Arrangement for enhancing blade life

ABSTRACT

A steel blade, such as a snow plow blade or grader blade, is provided with wear resistant members separate therefrom and near the ends which have lower edges spaced upwardly from the lower edge of the blade so that the blade can be caused to wear off uniformly along the lower edge along a line parallel to the upper edge of the blade. The blade is discarded when the lower edges of the wear resistant members reach the level of the surface being worked. Thereafter, the worn blade is replaced by a new blade and, optionally, the worn blade can be fixed to the front face of the new blade along the lower region thereof as by welding.

United States Patent [1 1 Toews 1 ARRANGEMENT FOR ENHANCING BLADE LIFELeonard F. Toews, Greensburg, Pa.

[52] US. Cl 37/141 R; 37/142 R; 172/765; 172/719 [51] Int. Cl E02! 9/28[58] Field of Search... 37/41, 42,50, 141 R, 142 R, 37/142 A; 172/783,784, 787, 801, 681, 703, 704, 719, 765

[ 1 June 10, 1975 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 423,856 5/1967Switzerland 37/50 203,456 4/1966 Sweden 172/787 111,999 9/1967 Norway37/141 1,563,274 3/1968 France 37/42 VL 1,561,868 3/1969France.............................. 37/42 VL Primary ExaminerE. I-I.Eickholt Attorney, Agent, or FirmMelvin A. Crosby [5 7 ABSTRACT A steelblade, such as a snow plow blade or grader blade, is provided with wearresistant members separate therefrom and near the ends which have loweredges spaced upwardly from the lower edge of the blade so that the bladecan be caused to wear off uniformly along the lower edge along a lineparallel to the upper edge of the blade. The blade is discarded when thelower edges of the wear resistant members reach the level of the surfacebeing worked. Thereafter, the worn blade is replaced by a new blade and,optionally, the worn blade can be fixed to the front face of the newblade along the lower region thereof as by weld- 10 Claims, 4 DrawingFigures PATENTEDJUN 10 1915 1 ARRANGEMENT FOR ENHANCING BLADE LIFE Thisapplication is a continuation of co-pending Ser. No. 384,024, filed July30, 1973, and now abandoned.

The present invention relates to an arrangement for enhancing the lifeof steel snow plow and grader blades and is particularly concerned withthe combination of such a blade with wear resisting members mounted nearthe end of the blade and which have lower edges spaced upwardly from thelower edge of the blade and which wear resistant members inhibit furtherwear on the blade when the blade wears until the lower edge is in aboutthe same horizontal plane as the lower edges of the wear resistantmembers.

Steel blades are widely used for snow plows and grader blades and havethe advantage of being relatively inexpensive, but the disadvantage ofwearing out extremely rapidly. The rate of wear of the steel bladesintroduces problems because once the blade is worn, it must be replacedby a new blade. If a worn blade is not replaced by a new blade, the wearat the lower edge of the blade can continue until the structure of themold board along the lower edge is damaged by being exposed to thesurface being worked.

In respect of snow plow blades, the frequent replacing thereof is aparticular problem because many times this must be done under adverseweather conditions, and when it is quite cold. Steel blade edge membershaving cemented wear resistant hard metal carbide blocks distributedalong the lower edge have become quite popular for use with snow plowsand have a useful life which is a multiple of the best life that can beobtained from the best steel blade.

The carbide edged blades wear extremely slowly and are ideal for use onsmooth highway surfaces. However, roads which are irregular or crownedor the like can readily cause damage to a carbide edged blade, and itis, therefore, the case that many roads are still treated with steelblade edges mounted on the lower edges of the mold boards of snow plows.Steel edges are not as readily damaged by impact as the carbide edgedblades and, furthermore, wear away more rapidly so that they can be usedon crowned roads and the like to some advantage.

It is the case, however, that the rapid rate of wear of steel blades cancause the blades to wear unevenly from one end to the other. This isparticularly true where the mold board of a snow plow is free to tiltabout a fore and aft axis because, in such cases, the steel blade edgemember will wear more rapidly near the trailing end of the mold boardthan near the leading end thereof.

This comes about because the mold board is inclined to the direction ofmovement thereof and all the snow picked up thereby moves longitudinallyalong the mold board and is discharged from the trailing end thereof.The down thrust on the mold board is, thus, substantially higher at thetrailing end than at the leading end. A steel blade will, thus, wearmore rapidly near the trailing end of the mold board than near theleading end thereof.

With the foregoing in mind, the primary object of the present inventionis the provision of an arrangement for enhancing the useful life of asteel blade, or blade edge member for a snow plow or grader.

A still further object is the provision of a method of operating a steelblade of the nature referred to for enhancing the useful life thereof.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, thereis mounted parallel to the steel blade, a pair of wear resistantmembers, one near each end of the blade. Each wear resistant member hasa groove extending into the lower edge thereof and mounted therein inside by side relation are blocks of hard cemented carbide material suchas cemented tungsten carbide.

The wear resistant members are supported with the lower edges spacedupwardly from the lower edge of the blade a distance about one-half theheight of the blade and, normally, do not engage the surface beingworked. When the steel blade wears down until the wear resistant membersengage the surface being worked, the rate of wear of the steel blademember in that region is immediately inhibited, although the steel bladecan wear along the other portions thereof.

When a blade is worn down to the point that both of the wear resistantmembers are engaging the surfaces being worked, the worn blade isreplaced by a new blade and, at that time, the worn blade, which isabout half as wide as when it was new, can be attached to the front faceof the new blade and provide increased thickness therefor and, ofcourse, increased life.

The wear resistant members are advantageously mounted behind the steelblade, and the one at the end of the steel blade which has the greaterdown thrust imposed thereon is longer than the other. Each wearresistant member is, however, only a fraction of the length of the steelblade.

The nature of the present invention will be more clearly understood uponreference to the following detailed specification taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an end view, partly in section, showing a steel blade and awear resistant member according to the present invention mounted on thelower edge of a mold board.

FIG. 2 is a somewhat schematic front view of a steel blade showing awear resistant member mounted therebehind at each end.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing how a worn blade can beattached to the face of a new blade.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a typical wear resistant memberaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings somewhatmore in detail, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 indicates the mold boardof, for example, a snow plow. At the lower end of the mold board, thereis provided an angle member 12. Mounted on the front side of mold board10 and angle 12 is a steel blade 14 which may, for example, be abouteight inches from top to bottom and from fiveeighths to seven-eighthsinches thick. The upper and lower edges of the blade are parallel witheach other and the blade can be any desired length from a few feet, say,three feet, up to several feet in length.

The blade is held in place by bolts 16 extending through the blade nearthe upper edge and also through mold board 10 and angle 12. According tothe present invention, disposed on the rear side of angle 12 are wearresistant members, one of which is shown at 18 in FIG. 1 and which has agroove 20 formed along the lower edge and in which is mounted blocks 22of cemented hard metal carbide, such as cemented tungsten carbide.

The lower edge of member 18 is disposed in a horizontal plane 24 which,it will be seen, passes through about the center of the vertical heighthof blade 14 and which plane is disposed below any parts of the moldboard and angle 12 that could be damaged by engagement with the surfacebeing worked.

In operation, the steel blade will wear upwardly from the lower edgeuntil it is worn off to about plane 24 and at that point the lower edgeof member 18 engages the surface and substantially halts further wear ofthe steel blade.

As will be seen in FIG. 2, which is a view looking in from the left sideof FIG. 1, the said member 18 is disposed near one end of blade 14 and alike member 26 is disposed near the other end of blade 14. Both membersare behind blade 14 and thereby do not obstruct the flow of snow orother material thereover. Member 26, it will be noted, is substantiallylonger than member 18.

For example, member 18 might be 6 inches long and member 26 might beabout 17 inches long. This comes about because the mold board 10, whenin operation, is inclined angularly to the direction of movement so thatsnow and like material picked up by the blade moves along the mold boardand is discharged therefrom at one end.

To this end, the mold board is usually quite concave in the forwarddirection. Due to the material which is moved along the mold board anddischarged from the trailing end, there is a substantially greater downthrust on blade 14 at the trailing end thereof than at the other endand, for this reason, the wear resistant member at the trailing end ofthe blade, namely, member 26, is made substantially longer than member18.

It is true that the mold boards are sometimes supported at a fixed angleto the horizontal and, under these conditions, the trailing end of theblade does not tend to wear as rapidly as when the blade is free to tiltabout a fore and aft axis. In either case, however, it is advisable forthe wear resistant member at the trailing end of the blade to be morewear resistant than the other, and this can be accomplished convenientlyby making the member at the trailing end of the blade longer than themember at the other end thereof.

When blade 14 is worn down to the point that the lower edge is about inplane 24 of FIG. 1, the blade is removed and replaced by a new blade. Atthis time, the worn blade, indicated at 14a in FIG. 3, can be mounted onone side of the new blade, indicated at 28 in FIG. 3, with the loweredges of the worn blade and the new blade substantially coplanar and thetwo blade elements fixed together as by welding 30.

FIG. 4 shows, in perspective, a typical wear resistant member, forexample, the wear resistant member 18, wherein it will be seen tocomprise a relatively short blade section with the aforementioned groove20 formed along the lower edge thereof and opening downwardly and withthe aforementioned blocks 22 of cemented hard metal carbide fitted inthe groove in side by side relation and fixed thereto, as by brazing.

By the practice of the present invention, the life of a steel blade issubstantially enhanced and damage to the supporting structure for theblade, or blade edge membet, is substantially prevented. At the sametime, the advantage exists that steel blades can be employed and therebypermit adequate treatment of secondary roads and the like which are notwell adapted to treatment by carbide blades.

What is claimed is:

1. Wear resistant means for use in combination with an elongated steelblade for a grader or snow plow, the blade in unworn condition havingparallel upper and lower edges and including means near the upper edgefor fixedly supporting the blade with the lower edge exposed, said wearresistant means adapted to be disposed parallel to and rearwardly of theblade near at least one end thereof, said wear resistant means includingat least one member having upper and lower edges and being substantiallymore narrow in the vertical direction than the blade, said member inlength being a small fraction only of the total length of the blade,means near the upper edge of said member for fixedly supporting themember parallel to the blade near the end of the blade and rearwardlythereof and with the said lower edge of the member spaced upwardly fromthe lower edge of the blade and parallel thereto, the distance betweenthe lower edge of the said member and the lower edge of the blade whenthe latter is not worn being about equal to maximum amount to be wornoff the blade before replacement thereof, the lower edge of said memberincluding wear and abrasion resistant means substantially more wear andabrasion resistant than the steel of the blade.

2. Wear resistant means according to claim 1 in which said wear andabrasion resistant means comprises hard cemented metal carbide.

3. Wear resistant means according to claim 1 in which said memberincludes a downwardly opening longitudinal groove in the lower edge, andblocks of hard cemented metal carbide mounted in said groove in side byside relation.

4. Wear resistant means according to claim 3 in which said metal carbidecomprises tungsten carbide.

5. Wear resistant means according to claim 1 in which the lower edge ofsaid member is in about the same horizontal plane as the verticallycentral region of the blade.

6. Wear resistant means according to claim I in which said wearresistant means includes a pair of the said members, one member beingnear each end of the blade, the lower edges of the members being inalignment and parallel to the lower edge of the blade.

7. Wear resistant means according to claim 6 in which one member islonger than the other thereof.

8. In combination; an elongated steel blade which in unworn conditionhas parallel upper and lower edges spaced apart a distance which is afraction of the length of the blade, a wear resistant member behind theblade near each end thereof and each thereof being a small fraction onlyof the total length of said blade, each member having a lower edgeparallel to the lower edge of the blade and spaced upwardly therefrom adistance of about one-half the height of the blade, means rigidlyinterconnecting said blade and members in the aforesaid relativepositions, a downwardly opening groove formed in the lower edge of eachmember, and blocks of cemented hard metal carbide fixed in said groovesin side by side relation.

9. The combination according to claim 8 in which said blade and membersare mounted on the lower edge of a mold board which is concave towardthe front and which is disposed at an angle to the direction of movementthereof whereby material lifted by the blade will move along the moldboard toward the trailing end thereof, the said member behind the end ofthe blade nearest the trailing end of the mold board being longer thanthe other said member.

It). The method of enhancing the life of a steel blade for a grader orsnow plow, said blade having longitudinally extending parallel upper andlower edges and having opposite end regions, said blade having the loweredge exposed for engagement with a surface to be worked, said methodcomprising; mounting members near the end regions of the blade andrearwardly substantially the same horizontal plane.

* I I t

1. Wear resistant means for use in combination with an elongated steelblade for a grader or snow plow, the blade in unworn condition havingparallel upper and lower edges and including means near the upper edgefor fixedly supporting the blade with the lower edge exposed, said wearresistant means adapted to be disposed parallel to and rearwardly of theblade near at least one end thereof, said wear resistant means includingat least one member having upper and lower edges and being substantiallymore narrow in the vertical direction than the blade, said member inlength being a small fraction only of the total length of the blade,means near the upper edge of said member for fixedly supporting themember parallel to the blade near the end of the blade and rearwardlythereof and with the said lower edge of the member spaced upwardly fromthe lower edge of the blade and parallel thereto, the distance betweenthe lower edge of the said member and the lower edge of the blade whenthe latter is not worn being about equal to maximum amount to be wornoff the blade before replacement thereof, the lower edge of said memberincluding wear and abrasion resistant means substantially more wear andabrasion resistant than the steel of the blade.
 2. Wear resistant meansaccording to claim 1 in which said wear and abrasion resistant meanscomprises hard cemented metal carbide.
 3. Wear resistant means accordingto claim 1 in which said member includes a downwardly openinglongitudinal groove in the lower edge, and blocks of hard cemented metalcarbide mounted in said groove in side by side relation.
 4. Wearresistant means according to claim 3 in which said metal carbidecomprises tungsten carbide.
 5. Wear resistant means according to claim 1in which the lower edge of said member is in about the same horizontalplane as the vertically central region of the blade.
 6. Wear resistantmeans according to claim 1 in which said wear resistant means includes apair of the said members, one member being near each end of the blade,the lower edges of the members being in alignment and parallel to thelower edge of the blade.
 7. Wear resistant means according to claim 6 inwhich one member is longer than the other thereof.
 8. In combination; anelongated steel blade which in unworn condition has parallel upper andlower edges spaced apart a distance which is a fraction of the length ofthe blade, a wear resistant member behind the blade near each endthereof and each thereof being a small fraction only of the total lengthof said blade, each member having a lower edge parallel to the loweredge of the blade and spaced upwardly therefrom a distance of aboutone-half the height of the blade, means rigidly interconnecting saidblade and members in the aforesaid relative positions, a downwardlyopening groove formed in the lower edge of each member, and blocks ofcemented hard metal carbide fixed in said grooves in side by siderelation.
 9. The combination according to claim 8 in which said bladeand members are mounted on the lower edge of a mold board which isconcave toward the front and which is disposed at an angle to thedirection of movement thereof whereby material lifted by the blade willmove along the mold board toward the trailing end thereof, the saidmember behind the end of the blade nearest the trailing end of the moldboard being longer than the other said member.
 10. The method ofenhancing the life of a steel blade for a grader or snow plow, saidblade having longitudinally extending parallel upper and lower edges andhaving opposite end regions, said blade having the lower edge exposedfor engagement with a surface to be worked, said method comprising;mounting members near the end regions of the blade and rearwardlythereof having lower edges which are substantially more wear resistantthan steel and which are spaced upwardly about equal distances from thelower edge of the blade and parallel thereto, and using the blade untilworn off to the horizontal plane of the lower edges of the members,replacing the worn blade with a new blade, and fixing the worn blade tothe new blade in longitudinally coextensive relation therewith and withthe lower edges of the new blade and worn blade in substantially thesame horizontal plane.